Chapter 41: Antidote

"Sir, are you alright?"

An emaciated old man, his cloudy eyes filled with worry.

Jiang Xiaomu shook his head slightly,

"It's fine. This medicine can save lives."

As soon as he finished speaking, the refugees surged forward like starving wolves fighting over the broth and medicine.

The plague's spread far exceeded his expectations; if this continues, the city will sooner or later become a dead city.

Jiang Xiaomu had already sent people out of the city to search for food—tree bark, wild grasses, Guanyin earth—anything edible was within the search scope.

But in the end, they found nothing.

It seems I have no choice but to make a trip to the Ghost Face Army's base.

The Ghost Face Army is Jiang Xiaomu's personal guard, famed for slaughter, yet they are obviously helpless against the plague.

"The Ghost Face Army's food won't last much longer."

Ye Ying's voice was low and hoarse,

"At most it can last until the end of winter."

Jiang Xiaomu fell into contemplation for a moment,

"Are there any other food sources outside the city?"

Ye Ying shook her head,

"Within a hundred miles, everything has already been scavenged clean. Now the heavy snow has sealed the mountains; finding food is as hard as climbing to heaven."

"Wild grass, tree bark, and Guanyin earth have all been dug up; not only Hope Prefecture City, but the surrounding Border City is the same."

Despair spread through the air, and Jiang Xiaomu took a deep breath.

"Ye Ying, do you know any herbs that can cure the plague?" Jiang Xiaomu asked.

Ye Ying pondered for a moment,

"I once heard that deep in the mountains grows an herb called Purple Spirit Mushroom; when used with coarse salt, it works wonders."

"Purple Spirit Mushroom..."

Jiang Xiaomu whispered the name, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes,

"Where does this Purple Spirit Mushroom grow?"

Ye Ying pointed to a snow-covered peak outside the city,

"Right on that Snow Peak, though the peak is treacherous, perpetually snow-covered, rarely visited, and the mountain path is perilous."

"I have sent more people to search, but none returned alive."

Jiang Xiaomu's eyes were resolute,

"Lead the way."

Ye Ying blinked slightly, "Sir, are you going yourself?"

"There's no time to lose," Jiang Xiaomu said firmly,

"The citizens in the city are in imminent danger; I must find the Purple Spirit Mushroom as soon as possible."

Ye Ying stopped dissuading him and turned toward the Snow Peak.

On the Snow Peak, snow lay several feet deep, each step extremely arduous.

"Sir, snow wolves often roam the Snow Peak; please be careful."

Ye Ying reminded him.

Jiang Xiaomu nodded and gripped his sword tightly.

Suddenly, a wolf's howl shattered the silent night; immediately, several huge snow wolves leapt from the snow and lunged at Jiang Xiaomu and Ye Ying.

Just then, a clear birdcall rang from the sky, and a pure white giant bird descended from the heavens to join the battle.

"Is this... a snow eagle?"

Ye Ying stared at the giant bird, her eyes filled with surprise.

The snow eagle is an extremely rare raptor, powerful in strength, proud in nature, and few can tame it.

With the snow eagle's aid, the snow wolves were quickly driven back.

"Ye Ying, the snow wolf pack has retreated; let's continue."

"Young master, the Purple Spirit Mushroom's growing place is indeed perilous, and there is even a pack of wolves guarding it."

The two trekked through the snow for days, finally discovering on a cliff face that stalk emitting a faint purple light—the lingzhi.

It grew in a crevice of the cliff, surrounded by smooth, mirror-like ice; a moment's carelessness would send one plunging into an abyss.

"How... should we do this?"

Gazing at the Purple Spirit Mushroom within reach yet seemingly worlds away, he was momentarily at a loss.

Jiang Xiaomu looked around, his gaze landing on a dead pine tree.

"Ye Ying, can your whip reach that dead tree?"

Jiang Xiaomu asked in a low voice.

Ye Ying followed his gaze,

"If we can swing across, gathering the Purple Spirit Mushroom will be much easier!"

Having said that, Ye Ying flicked her wrist; the whip flew out like a spirit snake, accurately wrapping around the dead tree's branches.

Jiang Xiaomu waited in place, his eyes fixed on Ye Ying's figure.

Ye Ying landed steadily on the opposite cliff, took out a small silver knife from her waist, and prepared to cut the lingzhi.

Just then, an abrupt change occurred!

The snow on the cliff suddenly loosened and avalanched toward Ye Ying!

Ye Ying, be careful!

Jiang Xiaomu cried out in shock, but there was nothing he could do.

Ye Ying reacted extremely quickly, dodging most of the falling rocks with a sideways move, but she was still struck in the shoulder by a fragment of stone.

She let out a muffled groan, her body swayed, and she almost fell off the cliff.

I... I'm fine!

Ye Ying continued to approach the Purple Spirit Mushroom.

Finally she plucked the Purple Spirit Mushroom and carefully placed it into her bosom.

She swung her long whip again, preparing to swing back to Jiang Xiaomu's side.

However, at the very moment she was about to swing out, the long whip that had been wrapped around the dead tree suddenly snapped with a 'crack'!

Ye Ying's body instantly lost balance and she plummeted toward the ten-thousand-zhang abyss!

Ye Ying!

Jiang Xiaomu's eyes nearly burst as he let out a heart-rending scream.

At that moment a giant snow eagle swooped down from the sky, seized Ye Ying's collar in its talons, and pulled her back from the brink of death.

The snow eagle circled in the air and slowly landed beside Jiang Xiaomu.

Thank you, snow eagle, for saving my life! Jiang Xiaomu gratefully stroked the snow eagle's feathers.

The snow eagle let out a clear cry, as if responding to his thanks.

Let's go.

Ye Ying said weakly.

Jiang Xiaomu nodded, leading Ye Ying away from this perilous cliff.

Jiang Xiaomu reined in the horse and dismounted.

The city guards, weak and exhausted, leaned against the wall; upon seeing Jiang Xiaomu they merely lifted their eyelids slightly.

"Sir, have you found the antidote?" the soldier asked in a hoarse voice.

Jiang Xiaomu nodded and handed over the cloth bag containing the Purple Spirit Mushroom.

"This is Purple Spirit Mushroom; boiled together with coarse salt it can alleviate the plague."

The soldier took the bag, a glimmer of hope flashing in his eyes.

"Hope it helps..."

Jiang Xiaomu said nothing more and headed straight for the city's largest medical hall.

Jiang Xiaomu stepped forward and knocked; after a long while, a white-haired old doctor tremblingly opened a crack in the door.

"You are..."

The old doctor eyed Jiang Xiaomu warily.

"I am Jiang Xiaomu, I've brought back the medicinal herbs to cure the plague."

Jiang Xiaomu spoke briefly and to the point.

Upon hearing this, the old doctor's eyes flashed with brightness, and he hurriedly ushered Jiang Xiaomu inside.

Inside the medical hall, medicinal herbs were scattered everywhere, and the air was thick with a strong medicinal smell.

The old doctor led Jiang Xiaomu to the backyard, pointing to a pile of coarse salt in the corner and said:

"This is the coarse salt I collected earlier; I hope it will be of use."

Jiang Xiaomu nodded, took the Purple Spirit Mushroom from the cloth bag, and handed it to the old doctor.

"Boil this Purple Spirit Mushroom together with the coarse salt and we can produce the antidote."

The old doctor received the Purple Spirit Mushroom, his eyes full of delight.

"This is indeed top-quality Purple Spirit Mushroom! With it, we are saved!"

They immediately began to work busily.

The old doctor was responsible for placing the Purple Spirit Mushroom and coarse salt into the medicine pot in the proper proportions and boiling them.

The process of boiling the antidote was long and agonizing.

He did not know whether the antidote would truly be effective, nor how many people in the city could still wait for it to be finished.

Finally, after several hours of agonizing boiling, the liquid in the medicine pot turned a deep purple.

The old doctor, excited and trembling with both hands, scooped out a spoonful of the liquid and cautiously tasted it.

"Success! Success! The antidote really works!"

Jiang Xiaomu also let out a sigh of relief.

This is only the first step; next they still need to distribute the antidote to the city's populace.

At first, the townspeople were full of suspicion toward the antidote Jiang Xiaomu had brought.

"Is this really the antidote?"

A frail old man, sick to the bone, asked weakly.

Jiang Xiaomu said nothing more, merely handing a bowl of the antidote to the old man.

"Drink it, and you'll know."

The old man hesitated a moment, then took the bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

Only after the time it takes to burn an incense stick did the old man's breathing become steady, and his complexion gradually regained a healthy flush.

"I... I feel much better, thank you, sir!"

The old man said excitedly.

This sight gave the surrounding townspeople hope.

As time passed, more and more townspeople received treatment, being pulled back from the brink of death.

The cries in the city gradually diminished, replaced by the joy of surviving the catastrophe.